Well, my birthday was this past Sat. and I cooked myself
a birthday dinner and invited a couple of friends and
relatives. The theme was Persian/Middle Eastern.

Here's the menu:
Appetizer - Green Lentil Dip and Pita Bread
Main Course - Fesenjan (Persian Duck in Walnut
Pomegranate Sauce), Persian Sour Cherry Rice,
Turkish Stuffed Zucchini, Persian Cucumber and
Yogurt Salad
Wine - Grand View Raspberry Infusion (red wine
infused with raspberries, from Vermont)
Dessert - Semolina Cake, Syrup Poached Dried Apricots
Stuffed with Whipped Cream and Pistachios

First off the green lentil dip was completely
blah. And the damn recipe made almost 2 quarts of
the stuff. If I had been paying attention I would
have halved or quartered it. Now I'm stuck with
a ton of the stuff. I'm going to doctor it up
and make soup out of it at some later date. For
now it's in the freezer. It wasn't *bad* it just
wasn't good. And on top of that I over-toasted the
pita chips and they were almost burnt. Bleh!
Anyway, I couldn't really figure out what was wrong
with the recipe. I'm generally pretty good at looking
at a recipe and knowing how it's going to come out.
And I can usually tell what needs to be changed if it
doesn't come out very good. For all I know this one
could just use more salt but it doesn't *seem* like
that's the problem.

On to the main course. I was really looking forward
to the Fesenjan. I've made it before, but from a different
recipe and a long time ago. Also, I substituted almonds
for the walnuts as I don't like walnuts very much, although
I will eat them in some things but they have to be ground
up find and heavily sweetened such as in my aunt's nut
crescents that she makes every Easter. Anyway, I decided
that since they are ground up and cooked with lots of other
seasonings that they wouldn't be too bad so I used the
walnuts this time. The trouble with the recipe is that
you can't really taste the pomegranate juice! I remember
the one I made before having more of a fruity taste. This
one did not. Also, I may have put a little too much salt
in it although it was not overly salty, just saltier than
I prefer - I'm not a big fan of salt and only use enough
to keep food from being bland but not so much I can taste
it. I usually at least halve the amount called for in
a recipe. This time I didn't. Stupid! I was especially
chagrined because I love duck and don't cook it very often
as it's a tad expensive and I had bought this duck on sale
back in Nov. and had been saving it all this time and was
so disappointed in the way the dish turned out. I've been
eating the leftovers and it tasted even worse on Sunday but
I had some last night and it tasted somewhat better. Maybe
my taste buds are going through menopause. ;-) Oh, well.
I'm going to go out and get another duck and just make up
my own recipe and with no nuts at all. I think I'll marinate
it in the pomegranate juice and just add a few things to
make the sauce. (P. S. I used 2 different recipes and
sort of mixed and matched. They are below. Same goes for
the sour cherry rice.)

The sour cherry rice was also disappointing. I followed
the recipe pretty closely and even tracked down the sour
cherry preserves that are called for so it would be very
authentic. But I didn't like it. There is way too much
preserves for the amount of rice so the dish was too sweet.
Also, and this was totally my fault, the rice was over-cooked
and that didn't help. But mainly it was too sweet. I think
I like my fake version that I made once before with just
canned sour cherries (packed in water) with a little sugar
added and made like a regular rice pilaf. Besides being too
sweet there was a funny funky flavor to the rice. It called
for saffron and I just threw a bunch in. I'm wondering if
that was the saffron flavor. I've never been able to taste
saffron in the quantities that are normally used. Everyone
says it has a distinctive flavor but anything I've ever
eaten with saffron in it doesn't have any saffron flavor
that I can discern, the stuff just seems to be there for
the coloring, and it's a tad expensive to use for that
purpose! Anyway, I put quite a bit in this dish as my aunt
had given me a large quantity of it so I was being quite
generous with the amounts in the dishes since I hadn't had to
pay for it myself.

The stuffed zucchini was also rather uninspired. The stuffing
was the scooped out zucchini, onion, garlic, fresh dill, some
egg and flour and feta cheese. Not bad, just not great. I
regretted wasting my good Bulgarian feta on this dish.

The cucumber-yogurt thing was another item that didn't live
up to expectations. Certainly edible but not something I'd
ever make again. It had fresh mint in it.

The wine was excellent.

Dessert was much better. The semolina cake was good but I
wasn't thrilled with the texture. The cake is bake then cut
into diamond shapes and soaked with a lemony sugar syrup.
It tastes great, but I wondered if the semolina I used was
slightly too coarse. It was the only kind I found. But that
wasn't a big problem. I'm still enjoying it. (No recipe below
as it's in a book at home, not on the computer at work.)

The piece de resistance was the apricot thing. The dried
apricots are soaked in warm water, drained, and then poached
in a lemon, sugar syrup briefly. They are then drained and
filled with whipped cream. You're supposed fold sliced
almonds into the whipped cream but I didn't do that as I hate
soggy nuts. (They would have been okay if eaten immediately
but any leftovers would have gotten soggy.) Also, I have a
ton of pistachios so I decided to use just pistachios, which
I finely chopped and sprinkled on top. Also, the recipe didn't
call for it but I added some vanilla to the whipped cream.
These things are to die for. I will most definitely make them
again!

So that was my birthday dinner. Food-wise I got some really
good presents - Cherry Republic Cherry Ketchup, Cherry Republic
Cherry BBQ Sauce, Cherry Republic Cherry Brownie, and Cherry
Republic Chocolate-covered Dried Cherries. I had a very cherry
birthday! I also got a box of bunny peeps. I'm glad the
people in my life know of my love for Cherry Republic products
and have the Cherry Republic catalogue. ;-)

Kate

LENTIL DIP (Adasi)

2 c. green lentils, picked over and washed
3 T. vegetable oil, butter, or ghee
2 lg. onions, peeled and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 T. angelica powder
1/2 c. Seville orange juice or mixture of 2 T. fresh lime juice and 1/4
c. fresh orange juice

Place the lentils in a large saucepan and add 6 cups of water and 1
teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for
about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally; add more water as necessary to
keep the beans immersed. In a large skillet heat the oil over medium
heat. Add onions and garlic and fry for 20 minutes, stirring
occasionally to prevent burning. Add the fried onion mixture, salt, and
pepper to the lentils and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low
heat for another 45 minutes. Add angelica powder and Seville orange
juice and adjust seasonings to taste. Serve hot or cold with lavash
bread. This recipe may be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored in
the refrigerator. If the salad is refrigerated for more than an hour,
remove it from the refrigerator 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4.
(Recipe from Najmieh Batmanglij's A Taste of Persia)

FESENJAN (Persian Duck in Walnut and Pomegranate Sauce)

1 4-5 lb. duck
salt
pepper
8 T. butter
2 onions, grated
2 c. walnuts, finely pulverized
1/2 c. pomegranate syrup or juice
3 T. sugar
1 t. cardamom
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 1/2 c. water
1 T. lemon juice
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
tangerine sections

Wash, pat dry, and quarter duck. Rub well with salt and pepper. Brown
in 4 T. butter. Remove to a Dutch oven. Saute onions in remaining 4 T.
butter. Lower heat and add pulverized nuts, pomegranate syrup (or
juice), sugar, cardamom, salt, pepper, water, and lemon juice. Cook
over low heat until will blended. Pour over duck. Cover and cook over
low heat for 45 minutes or until tender. Baste several times. Skim off
fat. Remove duck to heated platter and pour sauce over. Sprinkle with
chopped nuts. Garnish with tangerine sections. (Add fresh pomegranate
seeds to garnish when in season.) Serve with chelo (a Persian rice
dish). Serves 4.

SOUR CHERRY RICE

3 cups basmati rice
4 tablespoons salt
large yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 pound butter (2 sticks)
3/4 teaspoon saffron, crushed finely into powder with pestle
3 cups sour cherry (Morello) preserves
slice of pita bread

Fill large pot with water. Add 2 tablespoons salt. Soak rice for two
hours. Drain. In large nonstick pot, add 9 cups water, 2 tablespoons
salt, and pre-soaked rice. Bring to boil. Stir gently occasionally to
prevent rice from sticking. Cook until al dente. Drain. Rinse with
cold water, then shake colander to remove excess water. Set aside. In
skillet, fry onion in 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter until golden.
Lower flame. Add saffron to onions. Add sour cherries. Simmer for 15
minutes, being careful not to burn. Cover bottom of nonstick pot with
olive oil. Separate one piece of pita bread and place it on the bottom
of pot. Spoon thick layer of rice over pita bread; spoon layer of sour
cherry preserves over rice, then alternate layers, forming a mound.
Poke holes in rice mixture with handle of spatula to allow steam to
rise. Mix until rice takes on color of preserves. Melt remaining 1½
sticks of butter. Pour evenly over rice. If juice from cherries
gathers around edges of pot, skim off excess so tadiq at bottom won't be
mushy. Cover with clean towel. Then put lid on. Place pot on medium
heat. When you hear sizzling at the bottom (after about 5 minutes),
then bring down heat to low. Cook covered for 45 minutes to an hour.
Serves 6.

PARVIN'S POMEGRANATE CHICKEN STEW AND SOUR CHERRY RICE

6 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups finely ground walnuts
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups water
1-2 teaspoons saffron water
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup pomegranate paste
1 whole 4-pound chicken
1 teaspoon ground paprika
Sour Cherry Rice
yogurt

In a large stockpot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add 1
onion and the garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown,
10-15 minutes. Add walnuts, and cook, stirring constantly, for 3-4
minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon
turmeric, the cinnamon, 1 cup water, and the saffron water. Stir in
orange juice and pomegranate paste. Bring to a boil, reduce to a
simmer, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 35 minutes. In
another large stockpot, heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil over
medium-high heat. Add remaining onion and cook, stirring frequently,
until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add chicken and cook, turning
occasionally, until brown all over, about 10 minutes. Add the paprika,
remaining teaspoon turmeric, remaining teaspoon salt, pepper, and
remaining ¼ cup water. Cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add chicken,
pan juices, and onions to pomegranate mixture. Cover, and cook for 45
minutes. Serve with sour cherry rice and yogurt. Serves 4-6.

Sour Cherry Rice:
4 cups basmati rice
1 teaspoon coarse salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
2 teaspoons saffron water
32 ounces whole sour cherry preserves, drained and liquid reserved
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Place rice in a medium bowl, and add enough water to cover. Pour off
water, and repeat process 2-3 more times. Add enough cold water to
cover. Add salt, and let stand for 10-15 minutes. Drain. Bring a
large pot of water to a boil. Add rice, and cook until almost tender, 5
minutes. Drain. Meanwhile, in a medium nonstick stockpot, combine 2
tablespoons water, butter, yogurt, and 1 teaspoon saffron water. Add
rice, layering with the cherries, and cherry liquid. Sprinkle with
remaining saffron water and the oil. Cover top of stockpot with a thick
kitchen towel, and place lid on top. Cook over medium heat for 5
minutes. Reduce heat to low, and cook for 30 minutes more. Invert rice
onto a large platter. Serve immediately.

MAAST-O-KHIAR
(Yogurt Cucumber Salad)

500 g yogurt
1/2 sm. cucumber, grated
1 sm. onion, grated
2 t. mint
salt
black pepper

Beat yogurt well until it flows smoothly. If yogurt is thick, add a bit
of water while beating. If fresh mint is used, it should be finely
chopped. Add mint, onion, cucumber, salt, and pepper to yogurt and mix
well. Leave in the refrigerator for two hours, then serve.
Maast-o-Khiar makes a delicious side dish. Makes 4 servings.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI, TURKISH STYLE

4 med. zucchini, halved lengthwise
3 T. butter
3/4 c. finely minced onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese
3/4 c. grated Swiss cheese
2 T. freshly chopped parsley
1 T. fresh, chopped dill (or 3/4 t. dried dill weed)
1 1/2 T. flour
salt and pepper to taste
paprika for the top

Scoop out the insides of the zucchini to leave a 1/2" rim. Chop the
innards into little bits and cook in butter with onions, garlic, salt,
and pepper until onions are soft. Combine with flour, cheeses, herbs,
and beaten eggs. Correct salt and pepper. Fill the zucchini cavities
and dust the tops with paprika. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes or until
the filling solidifies. Serve with a fresh tomato salad. (From The
Moosewood Cookbook)

KAYMAKLI KAYISI (Cream-filled Apricots - Turkey)

1 lb. dried apricot halves
2 c. sugar
1 c. water
1/2 lemon
1 c. whipping cream
1 c. slivered almonds
2 t. slivered pistachios

Soak apricots in warm water 2 hours to soften. Drain. Combine sugar, 1
cup water, and lemon half. Boil until syrupy, 225F-230F on candy
thermometer. Add apricots and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and
allow to cool. Whip cream until stiff. Fold 1 cup almonds into cream.
Arrange apricot halves in single layer, inner side up. Dollop cream
mixture onto 50 percent of apricot halves. Cover with other 50 percent,
like sandwich. Sprinkle remaining almonds and pistachios over tops.
Makes about 75, if small apricots are used.


--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

Kate wrote:

> LENTIL DIP (Adasi)
>
> 2 c. green lentils, picked over and washed
> 3 T. vegetable oil, butter, or ghee
> 2 lg. onions, peeled and thinly sliced
> 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
> 1 t. salt
> 1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
> 1 T. angelica powder
> 1/2 c. Seville orange juice or mixture of 2 T. fresh lime juice and 1/4
> c. fresh orange juice
>
> Place the lentils in a large saucepan and add 6 cups of water and 1
> teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for
> about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally; add more water as necessary to
> keep the beans immersed. In a large skillet heat the oil over medium
> heat. Add onions and garlic and fry for 20 minutes, stirring
> occasionally to prevent burning. Add the fried onion mixture, salt, and
> pepper to the lentils and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low
> heat for another 45 minutes. Add angelica powder and Seville orange
> juice and adjust seasonings to taste. Serve hot or cold with lavash
> bread. This recipe may be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored in
> the refrigerator. If the salad is refrigerated for more than an hour,
> remove it from the refrigerator 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4.
> (Recipe from Najmieh Batmanglij's A Taste of Persia)

Hm. Not sure where this might be flawed. First, I'd use ghee if authenticity
was important, but I'd use bacon fat if I had the latitude to experiment.
I'd also use some kind of stock (ham stock, vegetable stock, or chicken
stock) instead of water to cook the lentils. I'd probably also want to add
some cumin into the onions and some turmeric into the lentils as they cook.
Oh, and you could add mustard seed when you cook the onions.



> FESENJAN (Persian Duck in Walnut and Pomegranate Sauce)
>
> 1 4-5 lb. duck
> salt
> pepper
> 8 T. butter
> 2 onions, grated
> 2 c. walnuts, finely pulverized
> 1/2 c. pomegranate syrup or juice
> 3 T. sugar
> 1 t. cardamom
> 1/2 t. salt
> 1/4 t. pepper
> 2 1/2 c. water
> 1 T. lemon juice
> 3/4 c. chopped walnuts
> tangerine sections
>
> Wash, pat dry, and quarter duck. Rub well with salt and pepper. Brown
> in 4 T. butter. Remove to a Dutch oven. Saute onions in remaining 4 T.
> butter. Lower heat and add pulverized nuts, pomegranate syrup (or
> juice), sugar, cardamom, salt, pepper, water, and lemon juice. Cook
> over low heat until will blended. Pour over duck. Cover and cook over
> low heat for 45 minutes or until tender. Baste several times. Skim off
> fat. Remove duck to heated platter and pour sauce over. Sprinkle with
> chopped nuts. Garnish with tangerine sections. (Add fresh pomegranate
> seeds to garnish when in season.) Serve with chelo (a Persian rice
> dish). Serves 4.

I'd use pomegranate MOLASSES rather than pomegranate JUICE. Besides
pomegranate molasses, the recipe I have for fesenjan calls for ginger,
turmeric, and cumin. It doesn't have any cardamom or saffron.



> MAAST-O-KHIAR
> (Yogurt Cucumber Salad)
>
> 500 g yogurt
> 1/2 sm. cucumber, grated
> 1 sm. onion, grated
> 2 t. mint
> salt
> black pepper
>
> Beat yogurt well until it flows smoothly. If yogurt is thick, add a bit
> of water while beating. If fresh mint is used, it should be finely
> chopped. Add mint, onion, cucumber, salt, and pepper to yogurt and mix
> well. Leave in the refrigerator for two hours, then serve.
> Maast-o-Khiar makes a delicious side dish. Makes 4 servings.

The quality of the cucumber is what I'd worry about here. If the final dish
is supposed to have a discernible cucumber flavor, then the cucumber you
start with can't be flavorless. I dunno; I might not even *try* this dish
in the winter. But here's something you could try: Grate the cucumber into a
cheesecloth-lined colander over a bowl, sprinkle lightly with salt and
sugar, and let it sit for about half an hour. Then squeeze it dry over the
bowl. (This parallels a Japanese technique of salting and sugaring cucumber
slices and then sort of massaging them to develop their flavor.) Taste the
juice in the bowl; if it's got a good flavor, you can use it to thin the
yogurt, otherwise discard it.



> STUFFED ZUCCHINI, TURKISH STYLE
>
> 4 med. zucchini, halved lengthwise
> 3 T. butter
> 3/4 c. finely minced onion
> 3 cloves garlic, crushed
> 3 eggs, beaten
> 1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese
> 3/4 c. grated Swiss cheese
> 2 T. freshly chopped parsley
> 1 T. fresh, chopped dill (or 3/4 t. dried dill weed)
> 1 1/2 T. flour
> salt and pepper to taste
> paprika for the top
>
> Scoop out the insides of the zucchini to leave a 1/2" rim. Chop the
> innards into little bits and cook in butter with onions, garlic, salt,
> and pepper until onions are soft. Combine with flour, cheeses, herbs,
> and beaten eggs. Correct salt and pepper. Fill the zucchini cavities
> and dust the tops with paprika. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes or until
> the filling solidifies. Serve with a fresh tomato salad. (From The
> Moosewood Cookbook)

I'm not sure this recipe *can* be salvaged, at least not to my tastes.
Mostly, I'd be concerned about the zucchini getting mushy, and I don't like
mushy zucchini. But here's a shot at salvation: I'd put panko on top along
with the paprika, cook it only about 20 minutes at 375, then broil it to
finish it off. Come to think of it, I'd probably leave the dill out and put
some oregano and lemon zest in.

It's too bad you weren't happy with the way many of your dishes turned out,
but as others have said here before, the PEOPLE make the party, not the
food! If you were with people whose company you enjoy, then your party
accomplished its purpose. They were there to celebrate your birthday;
everything else was EXTRA.

Happy Belated Birthday!

Bob

Well Kate, sorry that some of the dinner didn't turn out to your liking, but
the most important parts -- wine and dessert -- sounded wonderful, and it
sounds like the gathering overall was fun.

I've saved the apricot recipe...just the other day, I bought dried apricots,
almonds, and pistachios without really knowing why (here's what happened...I
went to Trader Joe's to buy one stinkin' jar of peanut butter and walked out
with $62 worth of goodies). So now I just need some cream, and I'll be in
business!

And I will check out that Cherry Republic catalog, too.....

Happy Birthday!

Chris

"Kate Connally" > wrote in message
...
> Well, my birthday was this past Sat. and I cooked myself
> a birthday dinner and invited a couple of friends and
> relatives. The theme was Persian/Middle Eastern.
>
> Here's the menu:
> Appetizer - Green Lentil Dip and Pita Bread
> Main Course - Fesenjan (Persian Duck in Walnut
> Pomegranate Sauce), Persian Sour Cherry Rice,
> Turkish Stuffed Zucchini, Persian Cucumber and
> Yogurt Salad
> Wine - Grand View Raspberry Infusion (red wine
> infused with raspberries, from Vermont)
> Dessert - Semolina Cake, Syrup Poached Dried Apricots
> Stuffed with Whipped Cream and Pistachios

<snip>

Bummer!

Next time let the others cook then you can sit and enjoy.

Happy Belated Birthday.

Dimitri

In article >,
Kate Connally > wrote:

> Well, my birthday was this past Sat. and I cooked myself
> a birthday dinner and invited a couple of friends and
> relatives. The theme was Persian/Middle Eastern.
>
So, it didn't go quite right? Well, who cares. The important thing is
that you are a year older, wiser, better, more fun to be with, and so
on. Happy birthday! May you have many more.

Regards,
Dave W. (wondering how many candles you tried to blow out ... 29?)

--
Living in the Ozarks
For email, edu will do.

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth
becomes a revolutionary act. - George Orwell, (1903-1950)

One time on Usenet, "Dave W." > said:
> In article >,
> Kate Connally > wrote:
>
> > Well, my birthday was this past Sat. and I cooked myself
> > a birthday dinner and invited a couple of friends and
> > relatives. The theme was Persian/Middle Eastern.
> >
> So, it didn't go quite right? Well, who cares. The important thing is
> that you are a year older, wiser, better, more fun to be with, and so
> on. Happy birthday! May you have many more.

Well yeah, but this *is* a cooking group, so she's entitled to talk
about any problems with dinner. She might get some helpful information
from others.

> Regards,
> Dave W. (wondering how many candles you tried to blow out ... 29?)

In RFC, we ladies are all 37 years old...

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"You still haven't explained why the pool is
filled with elf blood." - Frylock, ATHF

Gal Called J.J. wrote:

> One time on Usenet, "Dave W." > said:
>
>>In article >,
>> Kate Connally > wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Well, my birthday was this past Sat. and I cooked myself
>>>a birthday dinner and invited a couple of friends and
>>>relatives. The theme was Persian/Middle Eastern.
>>>
>>
>>So, it didn't go quite right? Well, who cares. The important thing is
>>that you are a year older, wiser, better, more fun to be with, and so
>>on. Happy birthday! May you have many more.
>
>
> Well yeah, but this *is* a cooking group, so she's entitled to talk
> about any problems with dinner. She might get some helpful information
> from others.
>
>
>>Regards,
>>Dave W. (wondering how many candles you tried to blow out ... 29?)
>
>
> In RFC, we ladies are all 37 years old...
>

Ladies???!?! Didn't you mean to say *trollops*??



--
Steve

One time on Usenet, said:
> Gal Called J.J. wrote:
> > One time on Usenet, "Dave W." > said:

<snip>

> >>Dave W. (wondering how many candles you tried to blow out ... 29?)

> > In RFC, we ladies are all 37 years old...

> Ladies???!?! Didn't you mean to say *trollops*??

IIRC, the birthday thing applies even to those of us who're
not considered a trollop...

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"You still haven't explained why the pool is
filled with elf blood." - Frylock, ATHF

Gal Called J.J. wrote:

> One time on Usenet, said:
>
>>Gal Called J.J. wrote:
>>
>>>One time on Usenet, "Dave W." > said:
>
>
> <snip>
>
>>>>Dave W. (wondering how many candles you tried to blow out ... 29?)
>
>
>
>>>In RFC, we ladies are all 37 years old...
>
>
>>Ladies???!?! Didn't you mean to say *trollops*??
>
>
> IIRC, the birthday thing applies even to those of us who're
> not considered a trollop...
>
My most mumble apologies m'Lady.

--
Steve

One time on Usenet, said:
> Gal Called J.J. wrote:
> > One time on Usenet, said:
> >>Gal Called J.J. wrote:
> >>>One time on Usenet, "Dave W." > said:

> >>>>Dave W. (wondering how many candles you tried to blow out ... 29?)

> >>>In RFC, we ladies are all 37 years old...

> >>Ladies???!?! Didn't you mean to say *trollops*??

> > IIRC, the birthday thing applies even to those of us who're
> > not considered a trollop...

> My most mumble apologies m'Lady.

Heh! No problem, Steve. Heck, I wouldn't mind being considered
a trollop, but I've never been sure how one qualifies. The Trollop
movement was already in full motion by the time I first started
reading RFC back in '96 or '97 (I can never remember exactly)...

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"You still haven't explained why the pool is
filled with elf blood." - Frylock, ATHF

Bob wrote:

.. . . Many interesting comments and suggestions snipped . . .

> It's too bad you weren't happy with the way many of your dishes turned out,
> but as others have said here before, the PEOPLE make the party, not the
> food! If you were with people whose company you enjoy, then your party
> accomplished its purpose. They were there to celebrate your birthday;
> everything else was EXTRA.

Oh, I had a great time. Just found it unusual that so many
of the dished didn't turn out great. I often make lots of
new recipes when I have a dinner party and I rarely have
anything not turn out really good. So this was sort of a
fluke. Nothing was "horrible", just not so good I'd want
to make it again. Anyway, thanks for the input.

> Happy Belated Birthday!

Don't you mean bQirthday? ;-) I just saw my post and
saw my typo. Sheesh. I'm losing it.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

Chris Neidecker wrote:
>
> Well Kate, sorry that some of the dinner didn't turn out to your liking, but
> the most important parts -- wine and dessert

Yep, the dessert's the most important part, especially since
it's last! :-)

> -- sounded wonderful, and it
> sounds like the gathering overall was fun.
>
> I've saved the apricot recipe...just the other day, I bought dried apricots,
> almonds, and pistachios without really knowing why (here's what happened...I
> went to Trader Joe's to buy one stinkin' jar of peanut butter and walked out
> with $62 worth of goodies). So now I just need some cream, and I'll be in
> business!

The changes I made to the recipe were to just leave use the
halves and not top them with another half. As I mentioned,
I added vanilla to the whipped cream and used the usual amount
of sugar, about 1 T. per cup of cream. And I left out the
almonds and just sprinkled a generous amount of finely minced
pistachios over the whipped cream. (Actually, I "minced" the
pistachios in my mini-food processor.)

> And I will check out that Cherry Republic catalog, too.....
>
> Happy Birthday!

Thanks.

Kate


--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

Dimitri wrote:
>
> "Kate Connally" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Well, my birthday was this past Sat. and I cooked myself
> > a birthday dinner and invited a couple of friends and
> > relatives. The theme was Persian/Middle Eastern.
> >
> > Here's the menu:
> > Appetizer - Green Lentil Dip and Pita Bread
> > Main Course - Fesenjan (Persian Duck in Walnut
> > Pomegranate Sauce), Persian Sour Cherry Rice,
> > Turkish Stuffed Zucchini, Persian Cucumber and
> > Yogurt Salad
> > Wine - Grand View Raspberry Infusion (red wine
> > infused with raspberries, from Vermont)
> > Dessert - Semolina Cake, Syrup Poached Dried Apricots
> > Stuffed with Whipped Cream and Pistachios
>
> <snip>
>
> Bummer!
>
> Next time let the others cook then you can sit and enjoy.

Yeah, but, I'm a control freak. I almost always
cook my own birthday dinner. Especially since I
always want some exotic new dish that no one else
know how to make. ;-)

> Happy Belated Birthday.

Thanks,

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

"Dave W." wrote:
>
> In article >,
> Kate Connally > wrote:
>
> > Well, my birthday was this past Sat. and I cooked myself
> > a birthday dinner and invited a couple of friends and
> > relatives. The theme was Persian/Middle Eastern.
> >
> So, it didn't go quite right? Well, who cares. The important thing is
> that you are a year older,

definitely

> wiser,

hardly

> better,

depends on who you ask

> more fun to be with,

I don't know how I could *be* any more fun to be with. ;-)

> and so on. Happy birthday! May you have many more.

Thanks.

> Regards,
> Dave W. (wondering how many candles you tried to blow out ... 29?)

Exactly twice that! Oops!

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

at Wed, 23 Feb 2005 17:03:24 GMT in >,
(Kate Connally) wrote :

>Well, my birthday was this past Sat. and I cooked myself
>a birthday dinner and invited a couple of friends and
>relatives. The theme was Persian/Middle Eastern.
>
>First off the green lentil dip was completely
>blah....

Persian food generally isn't like the typical Mediterranean cuisine - an
explosion of flavours. It's generally subtle and mild - some people might
consider that "blah". If you were expecting Middle Eastern food as in
Mediterranean, then I could understand how you might have been
disappointed. The dip looks fine to me. Did you use lime juice? Many
Persian recipes call for it and without it the dish will always seem not-
quite-right.

>
>On to the main course. I was really looking forward
>to the Fesenjan. ...The trouble with the recipe is that
>you can't really taste the pomegranate juice! ...

In Persian stores they generally have concentrated pomegranate syrup, which
is probably what the recipe really needs. Is this what you got? U.S.
pomegranates are also often pretty insipid, usually because they're
harvested long before they're ripe. So if you were using a U.S.
pomegranate, it might not have worked out very well. The good domestic
pomegranates are small (baseball-sized) and are very clearly hexagonal in
shape, looking from the top (blossom end), as opposed to the big,
spherical, softball-sized ones.

>
>The sour cherry rice was also disappointing. I followed
>the recipe pretty closely and even tracked down the sour
>cherry preserves that are called for so it would be very
>authentic. But I didn't like it. There is way too much
>preserves for the amount of rice so the dish was too sweet.

The recipe you have lists 3 cups sour cherry (Morello) preserves. For the 3
cups rice, that does sound like overkill. In addition, did you get
specifically Persian sour cherry preserve or did you use domestic Morello
cherry preserves?

>Also, and this was totally my fault, the rice was over-cooked
>and that didn't help. ...

I have to ask, did you use the real-deal Basmati? It's essential that this
be the type of rice used - all Persian recipes pretty much rely on the
particular taste and texture of Basmati for proper effect. Was it
overcooked as in dry? Or as in soggy and sticky?

> Besides being too
>sweet there was a funny funky flavor to the rice. It called
>for saffron and I just threw a bunch in. I'm wondering if
>that was the saffron flavor. I've never been able to taste
>saffron in the quantities that are normally used....

Saffron's taste I would say is strongly watery. I know that must sound
strange, but it literally tastes like water, hyper-concentrated. Some
people call this taste "musty". I do know that it's a taste you either love
or hate. By "a bunch", how much do you think it was? 1 oz? It's not
necessary to resort to overkill.

>Dessert was much better. The semolina cake was good but I
>wasn't thrilled with the texture. The cake is bake then cut
>into diamond shapes and soaked with a lemony sugar syrup.
>It tastes great, but I wondered if the semolina I used was
>slightly too coarse....

Persian semolina is quite fine - generally much finer than the semolina you
find in U.S. stores. Try looking for patent durum flour, which is very fine
indeed - this may produce a better texture.

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

Gal Called J.J. wrote:
> One time on Usenet, said:
>> Gal Called J.J. wrote:
>>> One time on Usenet, said:
>>>> Gal Called J.J. wrote:
>>>>> One time on Usenet, "Dave W."
>>>>> > said:
>
>>>>>> Dave W. (wondering how many candles you tried to
>>>>>> blow out ... 29?)
>
>>>>> In RFC, we ladies are all 37 years old...
>
>>>> Ladies???!?! Didn't you mean to say *trollops*??
>
>>> IIRC, the birthday thing applies even to those of us
>>> who're not considered a trollop...
>
>> My most mumble apologies m'Lady.
>
> Heh! No problem, Steve. Heck, I wouldn't mind being
> considered
> a trollop, but I've never been sure how one qualifies.
> The Trollop movement was already in full motion by the
> time I first started reading RFC back in '96 or '97 (I
> can never remember exactly)...

I think you have to be voted in by the Cabal.

BOB
TINC

Gal Called J.J. wrote:
<SNIP>
> In RFC, we ladies are all 37 years old...
>
And all we men are 39.... ain't it great?

Scrooge, the younger

"Kate Connally" > wrote in message
...
> Dimitri wrote:



>> <snip>
>>
>> Bummer!
>>
>> Next time let the others cook then you can sit and enjoy.
>
> Yeah, but, I'm a control freak. I almost always
> cook my own birthday dinner. Especially since I
> always want some exotic new dish that no one else
> know how to make. ;-)
>
>> Happy Belated Birthday.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Kate
>
> --
> Kate Connally

Exotic ?
Pot roast when I was 20?
I was about 12 when I tasted (devoured) my first Hostess Chocolate cupcake.

Dimitri

Alex Rast wrote:
>
> at Wed, 23 Feb 2005 17:03:24 GMT in >,
> (Kate Connally) wrote :
>
> >Well, my birthday was this past Sat. and I cooked myself
> >a birthday dinner and invited a couple of friends and
> >relatives. The theme was Persian/Middle Eastern.
> >
> >First off the green lentil dip was completely
> >blah....
>
> Persian food generally isn't like the typical Mediterranean cuisine - an
> explosion of flavours.

I didn't mean "blah" in the sense of mild or "non-spicy".
I meant "blah" in the sense of "it just didn't have a very
interesting flavor". In spite of all the onion and garlic
and orange and lime juice and angelica, it pretty much tasted
like plain lentil puree which is not a flavor I find that
interesting.

> It's generally subtle and mild - some people might
> consider that "blah".

No, I don't mind subtle and mild if the base flavor is
a good one. But of the Persian dishes I've made I wouldn't
call any of them subtle and mild except for the lentil
dip and it was way too subtle and mild. :-)

> If you were expecting Middle Eastern food as in
> Mediterranean,

I don't know what you mean by Mediterranean but if you
mean Italian, Greek, Spanish, etc. I'm thinking more of
Middle Eastern. In my researches the same or similar
dishes appear in many of the Middle Eastern countries
From Turkey to Egypt and over to Iran and Iraq and
Afghanistan. Many of the basic dishes are very similar.


> then I could understand how you might have been
> disappointed. The dip looks fine to me. Did you use lime juice?

The recipe called for Seville orange juice or substituting
regular orange juice and some lime juice. I used the
substitute.

> Many
> Persian recipes call for it and without it the dish will always seem not-
> quite-right.

Actually many Persian recipes I've seen call for dried limes but
say you can substitute lime juice.

> >On to the main course. I was really looking forward
> >to the Fesenjan. ...The trouble with the recipe is that
> >you can't really taste the pomegranate juice! ...
>
> In Persian stores they generally have concentrated pomegranate syrup, which
> is probably what the recipe really needs. Is this what you got?

No. I wanted to use fresh pomegranate juice. Yes one of the
recipes called for the pomegranate molasses but I went by the
other one that called for the juice. I also added extra juice
but you still couldn't taste the pom. flavor. I have made this
before with a different recipe and used juice and it was fine.

> U.S.
> pomegranates are also often pretty insipid, usually because they're
> harvested long before they're ripe. So if you were using a U.S.
> pomegranate, it might not have worked out very well. The good domestic
> pomegranates are small (baseball-sized) and are very clearly hexagonal in
> shape, looking from the top (blossom end), as opposed to the big,
> spherical, softball-sized ones.

I frequently use pomegranates and I think the ones I get
here are perfectly fine as to flavor.

> >The sour cherry rice was also disappointing. I followed
> >the recipe pretty closely and even tracked down the sour
> >cherry preserves that are called for so it would be very
> >authentic. But I didn't like it. There is way too much
> >preserves for the amount of rice so the dish was too sweet.
>
> The recipe you have lists 3 cups sour cherry (Morello) preserves. For the 3
> cups rice, that does sound like overkill. In addition, did you get
> specifically Persian sour cherry preserve or did you use domestic Morello
> cherry preserves?

Well, I couldn't get Persian ones but I got Turkish preserves.
The are morello cherries and that's the kind of cherries that
are used in Persian preserves. I'm sure they were very similar
to the Persian preserves. And the other recipe called for
*32 oz.* of preserved for 4 cups of rice. Which is 3 times
the amount of preserves for just slightly more rice!!! I decided
against going with that recipe as far as quantities went. I used
2 5-oz. jars which looked to contain between 1 1/4 cups and 1 1/2
cups each.

> >Also, and this was totally my fault, the rice was over-cooked
> >and that didn't help. ...
>
> I have to ask, did you use the real-deal Basmati? It's essential that this
> be the type of rice used - all Persian recipes pretty much rely on the
> particular taste and texture of Basmati for proper effect. Was it
> overcooked as in dry? Or as in soggy and sticky?

Soggy and sticky. And no, I didn't use basmati. I used Thai
jasmine rice. There's no reason that shouldn't work perfectly
well. It's very similar to basmati.

> > Besides being too
> >sweet there was a funny funky flavor to the rice. It called
> >for saffron and I just threw a bunch in. I'm wondering if
> >that was the saffron flavor. I've never been able to taste
> >saffron in the quantities that are normally used....
>
> Saffron's taste I would say is strongly watery. I know that must sound
> strange, but it literally tastes like water, hyper-concentrated. Some
> people call this taste "musty". I do know that it's a taste you either love
> or hate. By "a bunch", how much do you think it was? 1 oz? It's not
> necessary to resort to overkill.

I really don't know how much. I didn't measure it. And it
definitely was a musty taste so I don't think I'm going to
bother with saffron anymore. If it need the color I'll use
safflower or turmeric (if appropriate). No sense paying a
small fortune for something I don't even like and usually
can't even taste.

> >Dessert was much better. The semolina cake was good but I
> >wasn't thrilled with the texture. The cake is bake then cut
> >into diamond shapes and soaked with a lemony sugar syrup.
> >It tastes great, but I wondered if the semolina I used was
> >slightly too coarse....
>
> Persian semolina is quite fine - generally much finer than the semolina you
> find in U.S. stores. Try looking for patent durum flour, which is very fine
> indeed - this may produce a better texture.

Okay.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

at Fri, 25 Feb 2005 16:56:40 GMT in >,
(Kate Connally) wrote :

>Alex Rast wrote:
>>
>> at Wed, 23 Feb 2005 17:03:24 GMT in >,
>> (Kate Connally) wrote :
>>
>> >Well, my birthday was this past Sat. and I cooked myself
>> >a birthday dinner and invited a couple of friends and
>> >relatives. The theme was Persian/Middle Eastern.
>> >
>> >First off the green lentil dip was completely
>> >blah....
>>
>> Persian food generally isn't like the typical Mediterranean cuisine -
>> an explosion of flavours.
>
>I didn't mean "blah" in the sense of mild or "non-spicy".
>I meant "blah" in the sense of "it just didn't have a very
>interesting flavor". In spite of all the onion and garlic
>and orange and lime juice and angelica, it pretty much tasted
>like plain lentil puree which is not a flavor I find that
>interesting.

Yeah, I'd have expected it to taste mostly of lentil puree. I wasn't really
meaning mild or non-spicy either, or to be exact, that wasn't all I was
thinking about. What I meant is that the flavours don't really jump out at
you and that ingredients other than the base ingredient often aren't going
to be noticeable as a distinct flavour in the finished dish. It's a fine
line between what I'm trying to say and "mild and non-spicy" - I'm doing a
bad job trying to convey it. Hopefully what I've just said makes some
sense.

>>> It's generally subtle and mild - some people might
>> consider that "blah".
>
>No, I don't mind subtle and mild if the base flavor is
>a good one.

I think I'd have stayed away from the lentil puree if I didn't find the
taste of lentils that interesting. That's kind of what I was trying to hint
at in saying it's subtle and mild - that you might add a bunch of stuff but
it's not going to have a giant impact.

> But of the Persian dishes I've made I wouldn't
>call any of them subtle and mild except for the lentil
>dip and it was way too subtle and mild. :-)
>
>> If you were expecting Middle Eastern food as in
>> Mediterranean,
>
>I don't know what you mean by Mediterranean but if you
>mean Italian, Greek, Spanish, etc. I'm thinking more of
>Middle Eastern. In my researches the same or similar
>dishes appear in many of the Middle Eastern countries
>From Turkey to Egypt and over to Iran and Iraq and
>Afghanistan. Many of the basic dishes are very similar.

Italian, Greek, etc. is one type of Mediterranean, but what I meant was
Mediterranean Middle Eastern - e.g. Turkey and Egypt. There are a few
common dishes across the lands once under the Caliphate but at least from
my POV e.g. Turkish food is VERY different from Persian. The countries that
border on the Mediterranean in the Middle East lean towards more assertive
flavourings. As you proceed from west to east, there's a grading of
cuisines - so the change isn't abrupt, but by the time you reach Iran the
cuisine is markedly different from that of Turkey or Egypt. Afghan cuisine
again I find to be very different from Persian. Oddly, or perhaps not so
oddly considering the origins of the population, Afghan cuisine I think is
a little more similar to Turkish cuisine than Persian is.

>> then I could understand how you might have been
>> disappointed. The dip looks fine to me. Did you use lime juice?
>
>The recipe called for Seville orange juice or substituting
>regular orange juice and some lime juice. I used the
>substitute.

Which should have been OK.

>
>> Many
>> Persian recipes call for it and without it the dish will always seem
>> not- quite-right.
>
>Actually many Persian recipes I've seen call for dried limes but
>say you can substitute lime juice.

There's another group of recipes that call for dried limes and you can
substitute lime juice if you want, or in fact simply a fresh lime, but the
flavour will be stronger and more assertive. Dried limes are a good example
of a subtle flavouring.

>> >On to the main course. I was really looking forward
>> >to the Fesenjan. ...The trouble with the recipe is that
>> >you can't really taste the pomegranate juice! ...
>>
>> In Persian stores they generally have concentrated pomegranate syrup,
>> which is probably what the recipe really needs. Is this what you got?
>
>No. I wanted to use fresh pomegranate juice. Yes one of the
>recipes called for the pomegranate molasses but I went by the
>other one that called for the juice. I also added extra juice
>but you still couldn't taste the pom. flavor. I have made this
>before with a different recipe and used juice and it was fine.

I suppose this is one reason why we need to have multiple recipes for one
dish rather than having a Canonical Recipe for each dish. Every person's
taste is different so better to choose the recipe that works for you. Was
there a particular reason you decided to try the different recipe rather
than the one you used before that was OK?

>
>> U.S.
>> pomegranates are also often pretty insipid...
>
>I frequently use pomegranates and I think the ones I get
>here are perfectly fine as to flavor.

Do you usually get the small, hexagonal ones with the very deep red seeds?
If so, then they're probably OK.

>> >Also, and this was totally my fault, the rice was over-cooked
>> >and that didn't help. ...
>>
>> I have to ask, did you use the real-deal Basmati? It's essential that
>> this be the type of rice used...

>Soggy and sticky.

Probably then not so much overcooked as using too much water.
Unfortunately, I'm not the expert on rice cooking. But I've noticed that
real Basmati is much more consistent in its cooking properties, when the
desired effect is fluffy rice, than other rices.

> And no, I didn't use basmati. I used Thai
>jasmine rice. There's no reason that shouldn't work perfectly
>well. It's very similar to basmati.

In the sense of being like a typical long-grain rice jasmine might have
been OK but really basmati is necessary for the right Persian flavour. My
experience, too, is that no other rice cooks like it in terms of the
fluffy, entirely-separate grain consistency. This is one of those
ingredients for which there just isn't really a good substitute in spite of
the fact that there are several similar products. These days, basmati isn't
outrageously expensive. I can pick up a 10-lb sack from my local Persian
store for $14.00.

>> > Besides being too
>> >sweet there was a funny funky flavor to the rice. ...
>>
>> Saffron's taste I would say is strongly watery.... Some
>> people call this taste "musty".
>
>I really don't know how much. I didn't measure it. And it
>definitely was a musty taste so I don't think I'm going to
>bother with saffron anymore. If it need the color I'll use
>safflower or turmeric (if appropriate). No sense paying a
>small fortune for something I don't even like and usually
>can't even taste.

No kidding. I remember one friend of mine who, upon taking his first taste
of a lentil soup flavoured with saffron, instantly gagged. I'd never
thought before that that some people would really be turned off by its
flavour - after all, it's pretty mild to begin with (as you noted). After
that I started to notice more that there are a group who just really hate
the taste. It may be one of those things like cilantro or green peppers,
that contain a compound that some people taste one way, and others a
different way, which really is unpleasant.

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)